"Eating blueberries can also curb risks of developing cancer as well as reduce the chances of heart diseases," Shuyang Qu, Doctoral Student at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences in the US, said in a statement.

Previous studies have shown that blueberries were rich in healthy anti-oxidant substances, which could help prevent Alzheimer's - an increasingly common form of dementia - effects such as decline in cognitive skills and memory.

The researchers wanted to determine the consumer's knowledge about blueberry health benefits and see if there is a knowledge gap with blueberry health benefits among demographic groups.

They found that the low-income populations tend to know less about blueberry health benefits than the high-income groups.

The researchers surveyed more than 2,000 people, over 31 states in the US - mostly on the East Coast and in the Midwest - to see how well informed the consumers were about the health benefits of blueberries.